Republicans insist Trump Tulsa rally won’t spread coronavirus – despite local concern – By Amanda Holpuch (The Guardian) / June 14 2020
- Attendees at Saturday campaign rally will have to sign waiver
- Tulsa health director expresses concern over indoor event
Republican lawmakers are downplaying concerns that a Donald Trump indoor rally planned for Tulsa, Oklahoma, for next weekend could contribute to the spread Covid-19, amid an increase in cases in the city.
The Tulsa city-county health department director, Bruce Dart, said he worried the rally could be dangerous for attendees as well as the president.
“I wish we could postpone this to a time when the virus isn’t as large a concern as it is today,” Dart told Tulsa World.
“I think it’s an honor for Tulsa to have a sitting president want to come and visit our community, but not during a pandemic. I’m concerned about our ability to protect anyone who attends a large, indoor event, and I’m also concerned about our ability to ensure the president stays safe as well.”
Trump is set to travel to Oklahoma next Saturday, to stage his first rally since early March.
The event was moved from Friday to avoid a clash with Juneteenth, the day on which African Americans celebrate the end of slavery. The president had faced criticism for planning a rally on such a day in Tulsa, the scene in 1921 of the worst race massacre in US history.
Continue to article: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/13/donald-trump-oklahoma-election-rally-juneteenth-slavery-date
